Having an organized home has to start somewhere. You may be thinking to yourself that you’re so disorganized that learning to organize your home is an impossible task. Below are a few ideas for tackling disorganization before it begins.

Shopping is the biggest challenge to creating a clutter-free home. Shop with a purpose. If you only need one thing from the store, only bring home that one item. If you go to the store and pick up 10 things, you have officially caused yourself extra frustration.

The battle of clutter-free living is shopping. Just like weight loss. If you leave the ice cream at the store it will not be in your freezer the next time your sweet tooth attacks. If you did not need an item before you entered a store you do not need it now. Even if it’s the cutest thing ever that Sally is just going to love, leave it in the store. Shopping addiction is the first step to cluttered homes.

If you ask yourself the following questions and the answer is no, then you do not need to purchase the item.

Ask yourself…

• Do I need this?
• Where will it live?
• Do I love it?

If you can’t answer these questions then you don’t need to bring this item home. Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean you should buy it. I know the power of a bargain. But if you keep the previous 3 questions in mind you will find that most “bargains” are really just adding to your problems. If it’s cheap you have to ask yourself why. If you can’t seem to picture what you will do with it, or why you need it, that means you don’t need it.

Consider everything in your home needs a home. If your drawers and cabinets, closets, dressers, and everything else in the home are already filled to the brim, where will these new items live? Everything you own has energy and mass. It all takes up space. From pens and paper to furniture and stuff, everything takes up space. If you are constantly losing items you need and live in a sea of clutter it may be time to re-think the possessions you allow to live in your home.

Think about this, if your rent is $2000 on a 2000 sq foot home that means you pay $1 a month for each sq foot of space, that isn’t considering heating and cooling costs, costs of keeping the item in good repair, and other factors. So for every item you decide to house that does not serve a purpose in your life it costs you every single month to keep it.

When trying to decide what to keep and what to get rid of ask yourself if you were in the store would you purchase this item again? If the answer is no then it should go. Even if you paid a small fortune for it if you are not using it or don’t need it you pay for it again and again. Plus it is robbing you of space that could be used for items that you need and love.

Next time you go shopping save yourself some money and frustration by only purchasing what you need. It will be a challenge at first but if you push through the uncomfortable feelings you will find comfort on the other side. Your home will be less cluttered and your heart and wallet will be more full.